Minimally invasive surgical procedures are becoming more desirable as a surgical method of choice due to advantages provided when compared to traditional open surgery such as a higher surgical accuracy rate, less tissue damage, shorter hospital stays, less scarring, and less post-operative pain and discomfort. Such minimally invasive techniques thus require less medication to alleviate pain associated with surgery than would be required with traditional open surgery.
Trocar assemblies, also referable to as trocars, are often used in such minimally invasive surgical procedures, such as when a port access needs to be made in a patient's abdominal walls to access an abdominal cavity. A trocar is a surgical, pen-shaped instrument including a fixed and sturdy shaft or handle and a sharp point at a closed distal end to cut through patient tissue. The trocar is often mated inside a cannula during trocar insertion through the patient's skin and underlying tissues. The trocar cuts through such skin and tissue to provide a cannula-inserted access port during surgery for other medical instruments. Such medical instruments may include, for example, endoscopes, cameras, and fiber-optic lights. However, use of conventional trocars involves a risk of trocar-related injuries to internal organs in, for example, the abdominal cavity.
Accordingly, alternative trocar assemblies and methods of use to obtain access to an abdominal cavity of a patient in a minimally invasive manner are desired.